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Letter To
President of the U.S.A., President George W. Bush
Letter To President of the U.S.A., President
George W. Bush
January 23, 2006
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC
20500
Dear Present Bush:
Please permit me to extend to
you sincere greetings and best wishes from the officers and
members of the Liberian History, Education & Development, Inc.
(LIHEDE). LIHEDE is a Greensboro, North Carolina and
Liberia-based nonprofit organization comprising Liberians and
friends of Liberia dedicated to promoting education and
development initiatives in Liberia.
I am gratified by unfolding events in
Liberia regarding the historic inauguration of Mrs. Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf as the first female president of Liberia and the
first female head of state in modern Africa. I see the election
and inauguration of a woman president in Liberia as a great
milestone in Liberian political consciousness and a
reaffirmation of Liberia’s unique role as a pacesetter in
African political maturity and self-governance after having
emerged as the first independent black republic in Africa as far
back as 1847.
I am equally gratified by the decision
of the U.S. government to fully engage in ongoing national and
international efforts aimed at promoting, peace, unity,
reconstruction, democracy, and stability in Liberia, as
manifested by the high-powered American delegation of U.S. First
Lady, Mrs. Laura Bush, and U.S. Secretary of State, Dr.
Condoleezza Rice to the inauguration of Mrs. Ellen
Johnson-Sirleaf as the 23rd president of Liberia.
The visit to Liberia of the American
First Lady and Secretary of State at this crucial junction of
the nation’s political transformation in inaugurating the first
female president of Liberia points to the dawn of a new day in
Liberian-American relations and a new day in social, economic,
and political transformations in Liberia.
However, in order to fully appreciate
these transformations and contribute meaningfully to the
reconstruction of Liberia, the people of Liberia must begin to
enjoy a healthy environment that is free of malaria and other
deadly but curable diseases. But should malaria continue to kill
nearly 4,500 Liberian children each year as millions of dollars
in scare resources are spent on buying malaria tablets, mosquito
sprays, mosquito coils, and other less effective malaria
treatment options, then malaria would continue to remain a
serious national security threat in Liberia that undermines the
ongoing social and political transformations of the country.
We at LIHEDE, therefore, wish to
appeal to you to provide whatever assistance they can in
combating and eradicating malaria in Liberia. The present and
future generations of Liberian children deserve the chance to
grow up into productive citizens and assume the mantle of
leadership in Liberia, so every effort must be made to ensure
that these children do not become the next victims of malaria.
Accordingly, in mid 2005, LIHEDE
hosted a symposium in the U.S. on “Combating Malaria in Post
Conflict Liberia,” which brought together Liberian and
non-Liberian health professionals to discuss and make
recommendation on how best to eradicate the malaria pandemic in
Liberia. The symposium participants resolved to host a follow-up
health conference in Liberia to involve the Liberian government
and people in mapping out a program of action for eradicating
malaria in Liberia.
The resolutions emanating from the
symposium on malaria were presented to the Liberian government
by LIHEDE, and LIHEDE is now finalizing preparations, in
consultation with a number of governmental and nongovernmental
organizations and institutions inside and outside Liberia, for
hosting a national health conference in Monrovia late 2006
devoted to finding a common solution to the malaria menace in
Liberia. The outgoing Bryant Administration has endorsed the
conference aimed at eradicating malaria, and it is our hope that
the Sirleaf Administration will lend its support to the malaria
conference as well.
LIHEDE is fully aware of the global
malaria initiative by your administration to which millions of
American dollars have been devoted for malaria treatment around
the globe, and we hope you will use their good offices for some
of the funds earmarked for global malaria treatment to be used
in Liberia.
LIHEDE official delegation would
like to meet with you Mr. President for further discussion.
Approved:
Syrulwa Somah, PhD
Executive Director, LIHEDE
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